London, the capital of England and the UK, is the world's ninth-largest city. Its history spans nearly 2,000 years, beginning with the arrival of the Romans soon after their invasion of Britain in AD43. London is situated on the banks of the river Thames, in southeast England.

London is made up of two ancient cities that are now joined together.

They are:

the City of London, known simply as 'the City' which is the business and financial heart of the United Kingdom.

the City of Westminster, where Parliament and most of the government offices are located. Also Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the Queen and the Royal family are located there.

Together they all make up a region known as Greater London. London attracts very large numbers of visitors and tourists. We are going to tell you about the most interesting and famous buildings and landmarks of London.

Thirty-four bridges span the Thames

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognizable bridges in the World. It is the London bridge you tend to see in movies and on advertising literature for London. Tower Bridge is the only Thames bridge which can be raised. Tower Bridge is 60 meters long with towers that rise to a height of 43 meters. Its middle section can be raised to permit large vessels to pass the Tower Bridge. Massive engines raise the bridge sections, which weigh about 1000 lbs each, in just over a minute. It used to be raised about 50 times a day, but nowadays it is only raised 4 to 5 times a week.

London Bridge

London Bridge is between the City of London and Southwark. It is between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge. London's original bridge made this one of the most famous bridges in the world. The first London Bridge is thought to have been built by the Romans sometime in the first century, with several rebuilds over the centuries. Eventually wooden bridges were replaced with a stone bridge, the first one being started in 1176 and finished years later. Throughout its history, London bridge has been a busy thoroughfare, and was once lined with shops. The road over the bridge was only about 4m wide between the shops. It was so narrow it often jammed with people, horses and carts. In 1733 a 'keep left' rule was enforced to keep the traffic moving. This became the rule of the road in Britain. In 1757 the houses and shops on the bridge were demolished. A new bridge was built in 1831 to replace the old one. This in turn was demolished in 1967 and rebuilt in Lake Havasu City, USA, as a tourist attraction. The present london bridge opened in 1973.

The Millennium Bridge

The Millennium bridge is a pedestrian bridge erected to connect the Tate Modern Art Gallery to the City and St Paul's Cathedral. Almost immediately after opening the bridge had to be shut because of dangerous swaying. It has now been reopened. The bridge is about 320 metres, costs 16 million pounds to build and only takes pedestrians.

Southwark Bridge

Southwark Bridge is a road-bridge linking Southwark and the City across the River Thames. It was designed by Ernest George and Basil Mott and opened in 1921.

Blackfriars Railway Bridge

Blackfriars Railway Bridge is a railway bridge crossing the River Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and the Millennium Bridge

Westminster Bridge

Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster and Lambeth. The current bridge, opened in 1862, is the second on the site and replaced an earlier bridge that had opened in 1750.

Tower of London

For over 900 years, The Tower of London has been standing guard over the capital. As a Royal Palace, fortress, prison, place of execution, arsenal, Royal Mint, Royal Zoo and jewel house, it has witnessed many great events in British history. Nowadays it is a museum. The Tower of London was originally built by William the Conqueror, following his successful invasion of England in 1066. The Tower of London is perhaps better known as a prison. The prisoners would be brought, via the river, from Westminster where they would have been tried and crowds would wait on the river bank to find out the verdict to see if they would be treated to the spectacle of a public execution. The executioner, with his long sharp axe would stand behind the accused on the boat. If the accused was guilty he would point his axe towards the victim and if not guilty he would point it away. People knew that if found guilty there would be a public execution 48 hours later.

The guards at the Tower of London are called Yeoman Warders. In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners at the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels, but in practice they act as tour guides and are a tourist attraction in their own right. There are twelve Yeomen Warders. While their role is usually confined to the Tower of London, the Yeomen Warders do take part in one State ceremony. At Coronations, they form a guard of honour inside the annexe at Westminster Abbey. Their nickname is Beefeater. No other historic monument in England can boast such an unbroken continuity with the past or have played such a major role in the nation’s heritage. The Tower’s great sense of history lives on in its traditions and particularly in the ceremonies which are still performed here unchanged after several centuries.

The Legend of the Ravens

Ravens have lived at the Tower of London for hundreds of years. Legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London the White Tower will crumble and a great disaster shall befall England.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the Queen's official and main royal London home. It has been the official London residence of Britain's monarchy since 1837. Buckingham Palace is not only the home of the Queen and Prince Philip but also the London residence of the Duke of York (Prince Andrew) and the Earl and Countess of Wessex (Prince Edward and his wife) and their daughter. Buckingham Palace is used also for the administrative work for the monarchy. It is here in the state apartments that Her Majesty receives and entertains guests invited to the Palace.

Foot Guards

Five regiments of Foot Guards guard the Palace. They wear red jackets and tall, furry hats called bearskins.

Changing of the Guard

A familiar sight at Buckingham Palace is the Changing of the Guard ceremony that takes place in the forecourt each morning. The monarch and the royal palaces have been guarded by the Household Troops since 1660.

Inside Buckingham Palace

The Palace has around 600 rooms, including 19 State rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 78 bathrooms, 92 offices, a cinema and a swimming pool. It also has its own post office and police station. About 400 people work at the Palace, including domestic servants, chefs, footmen, cleaners, plumbers, gardeners, chauffers, electricians, and two people who look after the 300 clocks.

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square used to be the site of the Royal Mews, where hunting falcons were kept. The Square was built in the Victorian times. It was named in honour of the British victory, led by Admiral Lord Nelson, at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. On the north side of Trafalgar Square is the National Gallery. It was founded in 1824 when George IV persuaded the government to purchase 38 major paintings, including works by Raphael and Rembrandt. The National Gallery houses have one of the biggest picture collections in the world. Dominating the square is the 56 m (171 feet) column, Nelson's Column, with its 5.5m (18 feet) statue of Nelson on the top. It was erected in 1843. Nelson faces south, towards the Palace of Westminster. Nelson's column is guarded by four huge bronze lions sculpted by Sir Edwin Landseer in 1868. They were made out of metal from guns that had been taken from old battleships. To the east of Trafalgar Square is the 18th century St Martin's-in-the-Fields church. The first church built on this site in the 13th century stood 'in the fields' between the City and Westminster.

The Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament)

The Palace of Westminster, known also as the Houses of Parliament, is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) conduct their sittings. It is the place where laws governing British life are debated and passed.

The magnificent Gothic Revival masterpiece you see today was built between 1840 and 1888, this was the work of Charles Barry who designed the buildings to blend with nearby Westminster Abbey. The two imposing towers, well known landmarks in London, are the clock tower, named after it's thirteen ton bell called Big Ben, and Victoria tower, on whose flag pole the Union Jack flies when parliament is sitting.

House of Commons

The seating arrangement in the house is reminiscent of choir stalls, the members of the cabinet sit on the front benches while opposition senior members sit directly opposite. The distance between the benches marked out on the floor in red lines, is exactly two sword lengths and one foot apart. Members are not allowed to cross these lines. In the centre of the floor stands the Table of the House, on which the mace is placed at the start of each parliamentary sitting; this is the Speaker's sceptre. The speaker of the house presides over sittings, keeping order.

House of Lords

The House of Lords decorated in scarlet and gold has all the grandeur one would expect in this chamber. This is where Her Majesty the Queen comes to open Parliament each November. The gold throne which dominates the house is where the Queen sits to deliver the traditional opening speech. The Lord Chancellor sits opposite, on the famous Woolsack, this is a large scarlet cushion filled with wool, a tradition dating back to the middle ages when wool was England's largest export. The Queen rides in a State coach to Westminster to open each new session of Parliament, usually in the second week in November. The Palace of Westminster contains the bell Big Ben that strikes each quarter hour. A light in the clock tower tells when the House of Commons is in session.

Big Ben

Big Ben is one of the most famous landmarks in the world. The clock tower is situated on the banks of the river Thames and is part of the Palace of Westminster. Officially "Big Ben" does not refer to the whole clock tower (also known as St Stephen's Tower), but to the huge thirteen ton bell that strikes the hour.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey (whose formal name is the Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster) is a Gothic monastery church that is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English monarchs. Neither a cathedral nor a parish church, Westminster Abbey is a church owned directly by the royal family. Located next to the Houses of Parliament in the Westminster neighborhood of London, Westminster Abbey is a must-see for any London visitor. With the oldest parts dating to the year 1050, the Abbey contains some of the most glorious medieval architecture in London. The coronation throne where monarchs of England have been crowned since the 1300s can be seen in the abbey. Fans of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and other giants of literature will enjoy the Poet's Corner full of memorials to these and others.

St Paul's Cathedral

At the top of the Ludgate Hill in the city is the imposing classical facade of St Paul's Cathedral, the masterpiece of the great architect Sir Christopher Wren. It was built to replace the gothic church destroyed in the great fire of 1666 and its dome the first to be built in London still dominates the city skyline. The dome of St Pauls Cathedral is the second biggest dome in the world, after St Peter's in Rome. At the dome's base is the Whispering Gallery. A whisper to the wall on one side can be heard on the other.

During the Second World War the church was hit by several bombs but survived to stand among the surrounding ruins as a big enough hope for Londoners. Many important public figures are buried in the crypt including artists Turner and Reynolds and a great heroes Nelson and Wellington. Wren's tomb is also to be found in the crypt and on it is a simple Latin inscription which reads: "If you seek his monument - look around you".

Now about come modern London’s landmarks:

The Millenium Dome

The Millennium Dome, often referred to simply as The Dome, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium. It is located on the Greenwich Peninsula in south-east London.

The London Eye

The London Eye is another of London’s most modern landmarks. The London Eye (Millennium Wheel) at a height of 135 metres, is the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3 million people a year. It is described by its operators as "the world's tallest observation wheel". It carries 800 passengers at a time on a thirty-minute ride. From its highest point it promises fantastic views of the city of up to 25 miles.

30 St Mary Axe

30 St Mary Axe, also known as the Swiss Re Tower or the Gherkin or Dildo, is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London; completed in December 2003 and opened on 28 April 2004. It is 180 metres in height, with 40 floors. Its construction symbolised the start of a new high-rise construction boom in London. The building's name is its address — St Mary Axe being the street it is on.It is one of the first landmarks to become visible when you're travelling into London from many different places. The outside of the building consists of 24,000 square metres of glass arranged in diamond-shaped pane